Mental Health & Wellness

Since 2012, Terra’s Mental Health and Wellness program has expanded to include 2.8 FTE mental health therapists and a child and adolescent psychiatrist. The program has also worked toward continuity of care with pediatric and adolescent physicians.

about the team

The Mental Health and Wellness team is culturally and professionally competent to serve Terra participants. The team is inclusive and knowledgeable about gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age and dimensions of difference and understands the ways that trauma can be passed down through generations.

Measuring success

Through the program, teen parents experience coordinated, integrated and flexible access to address their mental health needs. Success is client-specific, is measured at the pace of the individual and with their full knowledge of their care plan and team. We asked where program participants saw the most improvement as a result of seeing our mental health therapists, and they most frequently noted relationship issues (83%), anxiety (75%) and depression (67%).

75% of program participants stated that they know more about the importance of mental health since seeing our mental health therapists.

Overall, teen parents in the program expressed that the biggest achievement they have experienced since seeing our mental health therapists is:

• reducing and managing depression
• growing as an individual
• being more confident
• working through feelings and relationship issues
• understanding their individual needs
• being more productive
• controlling their anger
• learning to talk about their problems with others.

Reducing barriers

We serve teen parents and their children where they’re at and when they’re ready. Serving teen parents and their children where they are physically at, whether that be Braemar School, at another Terra location or in the community, reduces barriers to accessing mental health supports. Young families can receive Terra’s mental health supports when they’re ready. The program’s prevention and early intervention strategies and activities are flexible, timely and include real-time support, reducing young parents’ stress so they can effectively interact and thrive in their communities.

A network of support

The program engages other professionals in our agency and in partner agencies by building mental health awareness, skills and sensitivity to the needs of individuals who experience mental health challenges through training and individual case consultation.